Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Volume 4 Chapter 2   Two instructors

“What should I do…”

To be honest, whether that young lady distorts herself or falls apart, it doesn’t concern me.

However, even though she’s not part of my group, I can’t deny that there’s a part of me that feels obligated to take care of her, to contemplate whether I should help or not. If it seems like I can offer assistance, I do want to help.

I do have that intention, but honestly, there’s not much I can do about it. That’s the truth.

As I ponder over these thoughts, I observe the young lady walking away. Just then, I approach Miyano, who is taking a break. It seems like those two are going to engage in a mock battle.

Since it’s a class for the vanguard, there won’t be any magic involved… Well, let’s see how it unfolds.

The two face each other, without any signal, the young lady extends her right foot and swiftly appears in front of Miyano, already having swung her weapon.

…I, I can’t see it.

I suppose the young lady charged and swung her spear, and Miyano managed to parry it. At least, that’s what I think. But I couldn’t see anything at all.

…Oh well, there’s nothing I can do about it. Should I enhance myself?

With that thought in mind, I infuse magic into my equipment, enhancing my cognitive abilities and visual acuity.

If this were a battlefield, I would also enhance my physical abilities, but for now, since I’m just observing, there’s no need to go that far.

However, as I continued to watch Miyano and the young lady’s battle, there was something that caught my attention after a few minutes.

…Is hit-and-run the young lady’s fighting style?

Attacking and then retreating, repeating the cycle. It’s a valid strategy for a spear user, as they often excel in speed. However, it feels like she’s keeping too much distance unnecessarily.

Of course, it doesn’t mean she should constantly stay right at the edge of the opponent’s attack range.

Having a safety margin within one’s reaction capabilities is important, but if it hinders the chances of landing a successful attack, then it becomes meaningless. The young lady’s approach is too distant.

It might work against opponents of lesser skill, but against someone of equal or greater ability, it becomes challenging.

Well, if this were a dungeon, we would be working together as a team, so it would be sufficient to restrain the enemy even if we couldn’t launch a full-scale attack.

“It’s been a while.”

“Huh? Oh, you’re here too, White Knight.”

As I pondered these thoughts while watching their battle, White Knight —Kudo Shun, the young lady’s usual instructor—approached from the side and started a conversation.

“Yes… Though it’s a bit late to say this, that nickname is quite embarrassing. Please just call me Kudo, as usual.”

Kudo chuckled at the name I used—”White Knight.” Well, I suppose that’s to be expected.

Ever since this world changed, there’s been an increase in people trying to act cool. They give themselves cool names and shout out flashy technique names.

But it’s only during their time as adventurers. And even then, there are moments when they suddenly come to their senses and think, “Wait, isn’t this embarrassing?”

Kudo being called “White Knight” is tolerable. There are others who incorporate “evil,” “king,” or “fallen” into their names, and shout out techniques like “Eternal Force Blizzard” with “Absolute Zero” in them.

Well, it’s what they call “chuunibyou” or “eighth-grade syndrome.” In a sense, there are quite a few sufferers of this strongest and worst disease in this era.

A nickname serves as an easy way to identify someone, so it’s fine to use it for self-introductions. But I wouldn’t want to use it in my personal life. I don’t like being called “Survivor” on a regular basis.

Kudo must have awakened to reality as well. Or perhaps he was always the sensible one? It’s not like adventurers get to choose their own names based on their achievements, so it’s not strange for others to decide and call them by those names.

Though, there are some who choose their own names.

“You say it’s been a while, but it’s not really, is it? And we run into each other quite frequently in the waiting room,” I retorted.

As an instructor coming to the school, Kudo does have a fair amount of opportunities to encounter me.

Besides, when the students have classroom lessons, we instructors rest in the waiting room or utilize facilities like the training grounds or the library, so we do come across each other during those times.

“Well, yes, I suppose you’re right. It’s been about a week since we last spoke, so it’s not wrong to say it’s been a while,” he replied.

“Is that so?”

Is a week considered a long time?

What even defines “a while” anyway?

Hmm… I don’t know. But well, it doesn’t really matter.

Or rather, where did he come from… Oh, right, he’s from that group over there.

“Do you not join their circle?”

As I tried to figure out where Kudo came from and glanced behind him, I noticed several instructors gathering there, looking towards our direction.

They were probably exchanging information and discussing the students among themselves. If I were to join in and participate in the conversation, it might be somewhat beneficial.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, Kudo casually smiled and suggested that I join them, as he usually does.

However, I had no intention of doing so now or in the future.

“Joining them would only disrupt their circle since almost all of them are in their twenties. They are a group of youngsters, after all.”

Most of the people over there are congenital awakened individuals, in other words—youngsters. Although it’s a bit ambiguous since they are mostly in their mid to late twenties, there is hardly anyone who is over thirty. At most, someone might be twenty-nine.

Moreover, everyone there is a First Class.

In fact, the majority of them are First Class tactical instructors, with a few Second Class instructors mixed in. Their abilities are almost on par with First Class, if not equally talented. It’s roughly an 80-20 distribution, or at best, a 70-30 ratio.

However, there is no Third Class among them.

Except for one person—me.

Earlier, they mentioned congenital awakeners, but it doesn’t mean they awakened their abilities from birth. It refers to those who awakened their abilities before reaching the age of twelve, during their preadolescent years. In other words, they are “early” awakeners.

Still, using “pre” and “post” congenital to describe them is probably for the sake of distinction. It’s about categorization, or rather, people’s perception of it.

Perhaps they intended to enhance their skills by creating a hierarchy.

People always try to establish superiority in some way, and they wouldn’t be pleased to lose to those they consider beneath them.

They should make efforts to avoid losing to their subordinates, so I think that’s what they aimed for. Well, it’s a common approach.

In their pursuit of improvement, they have received praise like, “You guys are amazing.” As a result, they have developed a certain sense of discrimination or superiority.

Considering all of this, let’s think about it.

If they are about a year older than us, awakened their abilities in a different order, and have a lower rank.

There’s no way we can fit in with such people. Although those gathered here have the potential to be instructors, their inner qualities may not be as impressive.

Naturally, they may have considered some factors, so even individuals with remarkable achievements might have been excluded.

See? It’s extremely difficult to fit in, isn’t it?

Moreover, even if we were to join, it’s questionable whether it would truly be beneficial.

We already know that it won’t be all camaraderie and mutual support.

So, it’s not enjoyable, and I chose to ignore it.

“I don’t think that’s necessarily true. It seems there are quite a few people who want to talk to you.”

“Talk, huh…”

I glanced at the instructors behind Kudo once again and quickly came to a conclusion.

“No, it’s no use. Too much trouble.”

“That’s a shame.”

Although Kudo said it’s a shame, deep down, he probably knew I would react that way. His tone was quite casual.

Besides, I have a feeling he himself doesn’t think much of their conversations. It’s just a passing topic, and he probably didn’t intend to actively involve me in their gathering.

Well, if I don’t have to get involved, then that’s fine.

Right now, what’s more important is the reason why he came here.